Carla Ulbrich is a comical singer-songwriter and guitarist from Clemson, South Carolina
and currently living in New Jersey. Insert your own punchline here.
Carla has a love of wordplay and a keen observational eye. She is primarily known for her humorous songs about such topics as wedgies, Waffle House, Klingons, and how rich she would be if she had the copyright on the 'F' Word. She also dabbles in fingerstyle guitar.
The Professional Smart Aleck has toured all over the US and England, and has appeared on USA TV, the BBC, Dr. Demento, and The Bob and Sherrie Show and venues such as the Falcon Ridge and Kerrville Folk Festivals, Club Med, Eddie's Attic, and the Bluebird Cafe.
The former school band geek just released her 5th CD: “Live From Outer Space,” recorded at Sirius XM Radio's Performance Theater. The CD was chosen as a "Top 10 CD of 2009" by George Graham (WVIA), Festival Radio, and the Serious Comedy Website. The track "Duet with a Kingon" was the #5 most requested song of 2009 on Dr. Demento.
Carla is also at work on a book of humorous essays about her adventures as "The Singing Patient," also to be released in late 2010 (pub: Tell Me Press).
Ulbrich, President of the Difficult Last Name Club and former member of the defunct trio Girls Gone Funny, has shared the bill with such luminaries as Cheryl Wheeler, Vance Gilbert, Modern Man, the Bobs, Chuck Brodsky, Bob Malone, Bill Staines, Greg Greenway, David Massengill, Steve Forbert, Bob Malone, Lou and Peter Berryman, the Austin Lounge Lizards, Rev. Billy C Wirtz, The Boomers, and Twiggy the Water Skiing Squirrel.
Scroll down for the egregious list of awards and venues played.
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HOW CLEAN (OR NOT) IS HER ACT?:
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Carla's song "If I Had the Copyright" (The F word song) was featured in the 2006 documentary "F**K: a F**kumentary by Steve Anderson (Aristocrats). The song is about the word, not the act. Generally there are no cuss words at all in a Carla concert, even when she performs this song, which is self-censored on the spot with a noisemaker.
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SICK HUMOR:
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In 2002, Carla suffered two strokes and kidney failure. Undeterred, she re-learned the guitar from scratch that year.
Under the stress of constant "care," Carla finally snapped and became "The Singing Patient," resulting in her third CD, "Sick Humor."
This collection features songs such as "Prednisone," "Sittin' in the Waiting Room," "On the Commode Again," and "What If Your Butt Was Gone" (a parody of one of Carla's own songs, also featured on Dr. Demento's 2005 "Basement Tapes" collection). Most of the lyrics were written during her many hours in doctors' waiting rooms. Which means the CD is not very doctor-friendly, but is very nurse- and patient-friendly. (Caution: contains some poop humor. Hey, write what you know. Sorry guys, she's taken.).
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SPEAKING PROGRAM:
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Carla now shares her story of how humor, friendship, alternative therapies, occasional stubbornness, and hanging onto hope helped her beat the odds. Her speaking/ singing program is called "How Can You *Not* Laugh at a Time Like This." She has presented the program for various medical gatherings and company parties, as well as Unitarian fellowships and the Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor.
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SONGWRITING WORKSHOP:
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Carla has presented a songwriting workshop on "Generating Creative Ideas" for groups such the National guitar workshop, the Sierra Songwriters Festival, SUUSI, The Orlando Musician's Union, and NSAI (Miami, Greenville SC, New Brunswick NJ).
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GUITAR INSTRUCTION:
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Carla has taught guitar at Lander University, North Greenville Baptist College, Hummingbird Music Camp, her own private studio and the National Guitar Workshop.
She is currently on teaching staff at Golden Age Fretted Instruments in Westfield, NJ. In fact at the moment she is the entire teaching staff there.
She occasionally teaches a guitar clinic called "Stuff Every Guitar Player Should Know" and has a music instruction book ("Theory for Young Musicians: Notespeller") published with Alfred.
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MORE INFO THAN YOU NEED:
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If you are planning to feed her, she likes gluten-free bread, hummus, dark chocolate, beans, cashews, tofu, green tea, carrots, and salad (no iceberg lettuce). As proof that all her success has not gone to her head (her butt, maybe), Carla does not drink alcohol, eat red meat or shellfish, but M&Ms;are fine, even the brown ones.
Carla uses up excess brain cells watching Wheel of Fortune (which you can view in less than 10 minutes using Tivo), reading old Archie comics, listening to the original Van Halen, and collecting US stamps and bottlecaps.
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AWARDS:
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Some people who thought Carla's songs were worth a second listen or even a trophy:
2009 ISC honorable mention, Comedy/ Novelty
2008 NERFA formal showcase artist
2007 ISC honorable mention, Comedy/ Novelty
2006 Just Plain Folks, Novelty Song of the Year
2006 Just Plain Folks, Lyrics finalist
2005, IAMA (USA songwriting competition), novelty category finalist
2005 NERFA Tricentric
2004 Dr. Demento's #8 and #10 Most Requested Songs of the Year
2004 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Most-Wanted Emerging Artist
2004 Kerrville NewFolk Finalist
2004 SWERFA Official Showcase
2004 NERFA TriCentric Showcase
2004 Just Plain Folks Novelty Album, 2nd Place
2004 Just Plain Folks Novelty Song, 4th Place
2003 Just Plain Folks Novelty Album Nominee
2004 USA Songwriting Contest Finalist, Novelty/Comedy Song
2003 USA Songwriting Contest Finalist, Novelty/Comedy Song
2000 B.E.A.M. Emerging Artist Grant (Jim Beam Corp.)
2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, 1st place, Open category
2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, 2nd place, Modern Rock/Alt. category
1999 South Florida Folk Fest Songwriting Competition Winner: Best Upbeat Song and Best Overall
1998 SC Arts Commission Project Grant
1998 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, Open category, 1st place
1998 Merlefest's Chris Austin Song Contest, Country category, 2nd place
1998 Gamble Rogers Folk Fest Fingerpicking Contest, 2nd place
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TV SPOTS:
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"Good Morning Arkansas"
"Triad Today" (Winston-Salem, NC)
"Community Corner" Somerset, NJ
"The other side" with Ken Mottet, Chicago Access Network
"Phil Phun Show," Sarasota, FL
"The John Show," ACTV, Gettysburg, PA
Homegrown Music Concerts, WVIA, Scranton, PA
"Up All Night," USA network
"Lorrainne Entertains," PAX TV
"The Naked Truth," Charlotte, NC
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MOVIES:
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"F*ck," a full-length documentary (2006, dir. Steve Anderson) features one of Carla's songs
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SOME VENUES CARLA HAS PLAYED:
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Club Med
Chet Atkins Convention, Nashville
Kerrville Folk Festival
Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Musikfest
Florida Folk Festival
South Florida Folk Festival
Gamble Rogers Folk Festival
Avalon Nude Folk Fest
Catfish Feastival
The Forest Arts Centre (UK)
The Tower Arts Centre (UK)
Corner Comedy Club, Clermont, FL
Central Louisiana Arts and Healthcare
Alaska Palliative Care Conference
Assoc. for Applied and Therapeutic Humor
The Myositis Association Annual Convention, Charlotte, NC
UU Cluster (South Carolina)
UU Aiken
UU Clemson
SUUSI
Godfrey Daniels
Middle Earth Music Hall, VT
Caffe Lena, NY
Bitter End, New York City
Eddie's Attic, Atlanta
Kulak's Woodshed, Hollywood, CA
Hallenbeck's, Hollywood, CA
Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA
Six String Cafe, Cary, NC
Main St Cafe, Homestead, FL
Art Serve Theater, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC
The Cannery, Dataw Island, SC
Fiddler's Green, Atlanta
Clemson Area Arts Council: Summer Series
FOCUS Concerts, MD
The Evening Muse, Charlotte, NC
Watchung Arts Center, NJ
The Minstrel, Morristown, NJ
Bodles Opera House, Chester, NY
The Dessert Club, Taunton, MA
various corporate holiday parties
League of Women Voters (SC)
Alcon 3 (Weird Al Convention)
DragonCon (Music Guest of Honor), Atlanta, GA
GaFilk (Science Fiction Music Convention), Atlanta
FilkOntario (Music Guest of Honor), Toronto
Contata (Music Guest of Honor), New Jersey
Fencon (Music Guest of Honor), Dallas
Oasis Con (Music Guest of Honor), Orlando
Conchord (Music Guest of Honor), Los Angeles
a patch of grass in Central, SC
someone's backyard in Philly
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DISCOGRAPHY:
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Live From Outer Space, 2009
Leftovers, CD, 2009
Sick Humor, CD, 2004
Professional Smart Aleck, CD, 2003
Her Fabulous Debut, CD, 1999
Carla Ulbrich, 4-song cassette, 1997
Something Real, 5-song cassette, 1994 (out of print)
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COMPILATIONS:
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Hudson Harding Christmas Sampler, 2009
The FuMP, Vol. 16, 2009
The FuMP, Vol. 11, 2008
The FuMP, Vol. 8, 2008
Best of the Red Peters Comedy hour, Vol. 1, 2007
Laughter Is a Powerful Weapon II, 2005
Laughter Is a Powerful Weapon, 2001
Dr. Demento’s Basement Tapes #13, 2005
Dr. Demento’s Basement Tapes #9, 2001
Decatur Decorum, 1999
Oasis Acoustic, 2003
Oasis Acoustic: Humor, 2001
Discmakers Southeast Heavy Hitters, 1998
17th Annual MidAtlantic Song Contest Winners’ CD, 2001
14th Annual MidAtlantic Song Contest Winners’ CD, 1998
Marscon 2007 Fundraiser CD
Marscon 2008 Fundraiser CD
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Books:
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Notespeller, 2002 (pub.: Alfred Knopf)
coming in 2010: How Can You Not Laugh at a Time Like This? (pub.: Tell Me Press)
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